Earth Day [April 22] should be every day when we recognise and celebrate the miracle of life itself on this unique planet with millions of diverse amazing creatures making up wondrous biodiversity that exists nowhere else in the known universe. How blessed we are to exist at all. We are still unsure of exactly how life came to be, how we evolved and why we are the species with the most developed intellect and awesome power over life and death on the planet.
In his now-famous 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’: On care for our common home, Pope Francis raised our awareness of the beauty of the Earth and the universe and the integrity of creation which we are called upon to love and protect, and warned of how humanity is destroying it.
Many people do not value the earth, our home, our source of being and life. Many do not contemplate the value of life, are unaware of the creation, the Earth, the natural world, the biodiversity of life, the universe, or themselves.
Many humans live in an unknowing and mindless daily routine as they struggle to survive in poverty while others, equally mindless, have an abundance of material things yet are disconnected from themselves, each other and the natural world. This is the great tragedy of human life, the only species with intellect, intelligence, knowledge, spiritual values and dignity and human energy—all largely wasted on trivial, useless pursuits.
The human species is living a self-destructive lifestyle. Economic and industrial activity has reached the point of destroying the sensitive climate and ecosystems of the Earth, and in the process, we are destroying each other. The desire to pursue vast material wealth and power and gain domination over others has led to conflicts and destructive activities and the extinction of many species of life on the planet.
If humans continue to destroy the forests and all the creatures living in them, then the people will have destroyed their own sources of water and medicine and negated the role of forests in controlling and containing CO2
The extraction and burning of fossil fuels is excessive and is bringing the Earth to a climatic tipping point of no return from global warming. When reached, warming will continue past two degrees Celsius until the Earth is uninhabitable us humans. Most food crops cannot grow in excessive warm climates.
The majority of people are tragically unconcerned about the looming catastrophe because of misinformation spread by powerful agencies, multinational corporations and their executives. They spread climate change denial and obscure scientific truth to protect their own industries. These fossil fuel industries need to be phased out and replaced by renewable energy sources. The lobbying for legislation that blocks the promotion of renewable energy sources and bans fossil fuels, oil, gas and coal, needs to stop.
Most people are unaware of and do not appreciate the complexity of the interdependence of all life, of which the human species is an intimate part, and whose destinies are intertwined with global warming and life together on the Earth. Too many humans are bent on killing other species and each other.
If humans continue to destroy the forests and all the creatures living in them, then the people will have destroyed their own sources of water and medicine and negated the role of forests in controlling and containing CO2. The balanced level for life to thrive is changing and humans are presently perishing as drought spreads in parts of Africa.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
In South Africa, as I write, devastating floods are destroying vast lands, crops, food reserves, houses and people. In the Philippines, greater, more powerful and more frequent typhoons have already hit the nation. The rains are devastating, the lost forests have left bare hillsides prone to massive landslides and flooding destroys rice fields and kills hundreds of people. It is a self-inflicted catastrophe.
‘The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation… ‘
Laudato Si’, Pope Francis
As Pope Francis said in Laudato Si’: “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation… ”
The social degradation he speaks of is the impact of poverty among humans and how it affects life on Earth. The evolution of the human species continues. Like a virus, there are mutations, some benign, others deadly. The deadly violent humans are the people likely to have unjustly and unfortunately grown up in poverty, emotional and material deprivation, severe neglect and abuse: psychological, physical and sexual violence. Most victims suffer in silence all their lives, others veer to the path of greater violence.
They desire to inflict on others vengeful violence in retaliation for what they themselves suffered in childhood. They bully, intimidate, silence and abuse all others to get their way. There is no justification whatsoever for the evil that they do.
These people choose to dominate others by force and lead fanatical groups, and even nations, on paths of violence and war. They may glory in power to compensate for the powerlessness of an abusive childhood. There are leaders desiring revenge on society and the world and they start conflicts and wars. They oppress and kill their own people.
To name a few in history: Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Assad, Queen Mary [Tudor of England], and now Vladimir Putin, bent on killing and destruction. These leaders become violent tyrants, dictators, despots, out to destroy their critics and other nations even and the environment with extractive industry, mired in corruption and war crimes.
Wars destroy the Earth and the environment. As Pope Francis says: “It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars, albeit under the guise of noble claims. War always does grave harm to the environment and to the cultural riches of peoples, risks which are magnified when one considers nuclear arms and biological weapons. Despite the international agreements which prohibit chemical, bacteriological and biological warfare, the fact is that laboratory research continues to develop new offensive weapons capable of altering the balance of nature.”
So, in Ukraine, it may come to a chemical or a nuclear strike, unthinkable as that may be. The environment has been destroyed by devastating accidents at nuclear power plants, while in the Philippines, agreements of understanding have been signed by government officials to start reviving a nuclear plant. People should know what is being done in their name and have a right to protect themselves, their nation and the Earth.
Father Shay Cullen
www.preda.org
